Kevin McCarthy: 'Create Something That Outlives You'
Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy is on the podcast today to examine the issues in the modern political landscape, from partisan infighting, the difficulty in electing moderate candidates, and the constant tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats that often leads us in circles, rather than forward.
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The Hill
7 minutes ago
- The Hill
Senate Democrats call for probe into DOJ settlement over Hewlett Packard-Juniper merger
Several Senate Democrats are calling for an investigation into the Department of Justice's (DOJ) decision to settle a lawsuit blocking Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE) $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks. Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) raised concerns to the DOJ inspector general Friday about the circumstances surrounding the proposed settlement. Two top officials in the agency's antitrust division — Roger Alford, principal deputy assistant attorney general, and Bill Rinner, deputy assistant attorney general and head of merger enforcement — were recently fired for insubordination. The firings reportedly followed internal disagreements over merger policy, in which Attorney General Pam Bondi's chief of staff overruled the antitrust division's head, Gail Slater, to approve the HPE-Juniper settlement. 'In all, these events reflect a concerning pattern of behavior within the DOJ and point to possible politicization of the process by which the DOJ analyzes proposed mergers and acquisitions, as well as undertakes and resolves enforcement actions,' the senators wrote in a letter to acting DOJ Inspector General William Blier. 'We are concerned that, in addition to improper interference in the enforcement of our laws, the full extent and parties involved in this coercive campaign are not known and that other improper conduct could have occurred,' they continued. The Justice Department sued to block the merger between the nation's second- and third-largest wireless network providers in January, shortly after President Trump took office. The lawsuit marked a key point of continuity with the Biden administration, which had been preparing to challenge the merger. HPE and Juniper pushed back on the lawsuit at the time, arguing the DOJ's analysis was 'fundamentally flawed' and the merger would allow the companies to 'more effectively compete with global incumbents.' In late June, the agency announced a settlement, allowing the acquisition to go forward as long as HPE divests its division for small and medium businesses and licenses Juniper's software to independent competitors. Axios reported Wednesday that the U.S. intelligence community weighed in on the lawsuit, urging the DOJ to allow the merger to proceed to boost American companies competing with China's Huawei. The senators argued the settlement fails to address the issues raised in the DOJ's initial lawsuit, which suggested the merger would essentially result in a duopoly in the market between HPE-Juniper and Cisco. They also underscored HPE's reported decision to hire lobbyists with close ties to the Trump administration, as well as the subsequent firings of antitrust officials. The same four senators raised concerns to Hewlett Packard president and CEO Enrique Lores in a separate letter Friday about what they described as the company's 'hiring of political consultants in an apparent attempt to assert undue influence, if not coercion' to settle the DOJ lawsuit. 'HPE's hiring of these consultant close to the Trump family and White House creates the appearance that it sought to use outside political pressure and retaliation against the Antitrust Division to end its lawsuit and reporting suggests that the full scope of HPE's consultants or influence campaign has not been disclosed,' they wrote. They pressed the company for information about the consultants, the nature of their work and any discussions they had with the DOJ's antitrust division or members of the Trump family. HPE spokesperson Adam Bauer said in a statement that the company is confident the Juniper acquisition is 'in the public interest and will promote further competition' in the market. 'The transaction was appropriately approved with certain remedies by the U.S. Department of Justice, and it was unconditionally approved by 13 other antitrust regulators around the world,' Bauer added. 'We respect the role our regulators play in maintaining competitive markets and appreciate the professional and constructive way in which the DOJ engaged with us in approving the deal.'
New York Post
7 minutes ago
- New York Post
Former Trump DOJ lawyer Jeffrey Clark faces possible DC disbarment over 2020 election claims
WASHINGTON — A Washington, DC, legal board moved Thursday to disbar a former Department of Justice lawyer in the first Trump administration for pressuring states to probe alleged voting irregularities and consider appointing new electors who could reverse the results of the 2020 election. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulatory czar Jeffrey Clark will be suspended from practicing law for 30 days — and banned entirely unless the DC Court of Appeals strikes down the ruling. 'Lawyers cannot advocate for any outcome based on false statements and they certainly cannot urge others to do so,' the DC Bar's Board of Professional Responsibility stated. Advertisement 4 Office of Management and Budget regulatory czar Jeffrey Clark will be suspended from practicing law for 30 days — and banned entirely unless the DC Court of Appeals strikes down the ruling. AP Clark 'persistently and energetically sought to do just that on an important national issue,' the board wrote in their ruling. 'He should be disbarred as a consequence and to send a message to the rest of the Bar and to the public that this behavior will not be tolerated.' 'Yesterday, I received disappointing news from a 100% politicized DC Bar process,' Clark posted on his X in response. 'But I also received an outpouring of support from a host of my friends in the law, many thoughtful legal and political commentators, but most importantly, from thousands of ordinary Americans like you. I am very grateful for that. Advertisement 'And even though a major part of my identity is under assault — a law license the son of a truck driver who never graduated from high school managed to achieve though birthed to parents who could not themselves fully afford my fancy education — I am and remain surprisingly calm,' he added. 4 'I know I did the right thing in 2020 and 2021 during the first President Trump Administration and wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I had not proceeded to internally raise the election questions I did,' Clark said. AFP via Getty Images 'I know I did the right thing in 2020 and 2021 during the first President Trump Administration and wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I had not proceeded to internally raise the election questions I did.' In 2021, Democrats in Congress pointed to evidence that Clark, a former assistant attorney general in the DOJ's Civil Division, had 'attempted to involve the Department of Justice in efforts to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power' and urged special state legislative sessions to 'evaluate' possible election fraud. Advertisement Trump had considered appointing Clark as acting attorney general in between his electoral loss to Joe Biden and the certification of the 2020 count by Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. 4 Former AG Bill Barr had resigned in December 2020 after announcing there was no widespread fraud in the election. REUTERS Former AG Bill Barr had resigned in December 2020 after announcing there was no widespread fraud in the election. Other Trump attorneys have faced disbarment, including John Eastman, the author of a memo claiming then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to reject vote counts from swing states; and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Advertisement Clark serves as the acting head of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. It's unclear how the suspension would affect his ability to undertake the role. 4 Clark serves as Trump's acting head of OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, but it's unclear how the suspension would affect his ability to undertake the role. Bloomberg via Getty Images James Burnham, a lawyer who recently left the Department of Government Efficiency to start an AI policy group, called the decision 'an outrageous weaponization of the bar ethics process' and warned it 'could be turned against any lawyer serving in government at any time. All steps must be taken to push back.' Burnham and Clark 'worked closely' together in the first and second Trump administrations, the ex-DOGE official noted. The Post reached out to Clark's lawyer for comment.
Associated Press
8 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Colombian ex-President Álvaro Uribe is sentenced to 12 years house arrest for bribery
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and bribery in a historic case that gripped the South American nation and tarnished the conservative strongman's legacy. The sentence, which Uribe said will be appealed, followed a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that he attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law-and-order leader of having links to a paramilitary group in the 1990s. Uribe, 73, faced up to 12 years in prison after being convicted on Monday. He has denied any wrongdoing and characterized the case as 'political persecution.' Ahead of Friday's sentencing hearing, Uribe posted on X that he was preparing arguments to support his appeal. He added that one must 'think much more about the solution than the problem' during personal crises. The former president governed from 2002 to 2010 with strong support from the United States. He is a polarizing figure in Colombia, where many credit him for saving the country from becoming a failed state, while others associate him with human rights violations and the rise of paramilitary groups in the 1990s.
